PORTLAND — Victoria Mansion’s original 1860 interiors will be dimmed to gaslight levels for “Tales of Terror,” a Halloween celebration featuring spine-tingling stories by 19th-century writers performed by local storytellers.

The sixth annual event consists of four shows over two evenings. At 6 and 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, storyteller/playwright Lynne Cullen will perform “The Family of the Vourdalak” by Aleksey K. Tolstoy and “Louella Miller” by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman.

On Saturday, Oct. 20, actress/storyteller Brittany Cook will perform works by Edgar Allen Poe in “Poe’s Menagerie, A Radio Play Featuring Some of the Writer’s Best-Known Beasts.” The 6 p.m.children’s performance of “The Conqueror Worm” and “Hop-Frog” is sold out. The 8 p.m. performance is for general audiences and includes Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Black Cat.”

“In the six years we’ve held this event, it’s grown from two stories told on just one night to four sessions with diverse programs spanning two nights,” Victoria Mansion Executive Director Thomas B. Johnson said.

Gina Platt, director of education, credits Victoria Mansion’s unique historical interiors for that growth. “It’s such a natural fit for us. ‘Tales of Terror ‘allows us to connect the fiction of the 19th century with the unique historical and cultural context that Victoria Mansion communicates so powerfully to people, and to do so in a way that entertains while it informs,” she said.

Constructed between 1858 and 1860, Victoria Mansion is one of America’s finest surviving examples of architecture and interior design from the mid-19th century. Its opulent original interiors and furnishings by renowned designer Gustave Herter remain more than 90 percent intact. The house has been open to the public as a nonprofit museum since 1940 and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1971.

Tickets are $20 for adults/$10 for youths 17 and younger. Call 772-4841, ext. 821, or visit the “events” section of www.victoriamansion.org.